Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic

The 2K Sports Classic (formerly known as the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic) is an annual college basketball tournament played in November at the beginning of the season and televised by ESPN. The tournament was first formed in 1995 as a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society, and produced by the Gazelle Group, Inc., in an effort to raise funds for cancer research. In the current format, 12 teams from 12 separate conferences are invited to the tournament. First and second round games are held at regional sites selected before the tournament. The semi-finals and finals are held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Beginning in 2012, the tournament beneficiary will be Wounded Warrior Project. A new event benefiting Coaches Vs. Cancer will be hosted in the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.[1]

Contents

History

The first Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic was held in December 1995 at the Atlantic City Convention Center and consisted of only four teams playing two separate games with no championship game. In 1997, the tournament expanded to feature a championship game between the two winners and a consolation game between the losers. The venue was moved to Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey and was moved again in 1998 to its current location at Madison Square Garden. In 2002, the championship game was dropped and four more teams were added to bring the total to eight teams, playing only one game each. In 2004, the tournament expanded to its present format, featuring 16 teams in four different regions. The winners of the two first round games in each region meet to determine who would go to the semi-finals, and the two losers of the first round games meet in a consolation game.

Past championship games

Most appearances

School Appearances
Memphis
4
Syracuse
4
Texas
4
Marquette
3
Maryland
3
St. John's
3
Temple
3
Wake Forest
3
Alabama
2
Alabama A&M
2
Florida
2
George Mason
2
Georgia
2
Illinois
2
Michigan
2
Pittsburgh
2
Princeton
2

Participants

2007

2008

2009 participants and bracket[2]

  Semi-finals Finals
                 
24  Syracuse 95  
12  Cal 73  
    24  Syracuse 87
  4  North Carolina 71
4  North Carolina 77
15  Ohio State 73  
  3rd Place Game
12  Cal 60
15  Ohio State 76

* – Denotes overtime period

2010 participants and bracket[3]

  Semi-finals Finals
                 
5  Pittsburgh 79  
   Maryland 70  
    5  Pittsburgh 68
     Texas 66
13  Illinois 84
   Texas 90*  
  3rd Place Game
13  Illinois 80
   Maryland 76

2011 participants and bracket[4]

  Semi-finals Finals
                 
19  Texas A&M 60  
   Mississippi State 69  
       Mississippi State 67
  15  Arizona 57
   St. John's 72
15  Arizona 81  
  3rd Place Game
19  Texas A&M 58
   St. John's 57

* – Denotes overtime period

References

  1. ^ "Plenty of changes next year for Coaches vs Cancer Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/09/15/Coaches.Cancer.ap/index.html#ixzz1YQeNOOeY". si.com. si.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/09/15/Coaches.Cancer.ap/index.html?sct=cb_t2_a12. Retrieved 19 September 2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/cvc/results/2009/bracket09.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/cvc/results/2010/cvc10_bracket.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/cvc/cvc11_bracket.pdf

External links